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Recruiting Heading Forward
- Thread starter Goose
- Start date
We allowed 1.3 points per possession last night on defense. Highest of the season.
Lack of a 3 point shooter isn't what lost that game...
I think we've got a lot of closet Iona fans on AllBuffs.
The Gaels are fun to watch...
To those complaining about shooting - I totally get it. I actually agree with you. I'd love to see us grab a lock down shooter or two. But the problem is that even the best shooters have off nights. Levi is revered on this board, and he should be. He's one of the greatest shooters in CU history. But that said, look over his game log (see Harvard, Alcorn St, aTm, OSU). There were some serious clunkers in there. And when Levi's shot wasn't falling, he was absolutely worthless out there as he was not a good defender. Tad's philosophy is that defense doesn't take nights off. As JG & Pachoops love to say - "Defense travels". If you're having a night where your shot isn't falling, you can still stop the other guy from scoring and win the game. If you can't shoot and can't defend, well, you're Iona...
Defense took the second half off last night.
My point being, when you're up against a team that is "on", you need somebody to counter that. A three-point guy will do that. He can shoot your way back into a game.
Being without 3 of your top 4 defenders has that effect.
Defense may travel, but it also has off nights like shooters do. And when the opposing team is hitting 3's with a man in their face like UCLA was in the 2nd, it'd be nice to have something to counter with. Having said this I know this is a different game with Spencer on the floor, and Tad can't plan for what happened.
And yes, Iona is fun to watch even if a one trick pony.
And yes, Iona is fun to watch even if a one trick pony.
I agree. Which is why I'd like to see a Levi Knutson-type player who can help cover those deficiencies.
So we need a shooter to cover us on nights when our defense is having an off night that will in turn make our defense even worse? (Levi was a terrible defender)
Offense is a lot more likely to have an off night than defense.
If our defense is playing poorly, another bad defender isn't going to make any difference. It's not like this hypothetical player would be a starter.
So Bret Brady should have played last night - got it.
If he can shoot like Knutson, yeah. I kind of doubt he has that ability, though, so no. Why is this so hard to accept? We needed a pure scorer last night. A guy who can throw up 15 points in 3 minutes. We don't need that every game, and it certainly causes issues elsewhere. But I maintain that is the one area where we are sorely lacking right now.
Oh great, a short, old, white guy. I don't care if he can shoot. That tall man next to him would bat it into the stands.
I disagree, we scored our season average for points and don't view the offense as the crux of the issue last night. IMO we needed our guys to be a bit better on the defensive end. The game was Kyle Anderson driving around his defender, waiting to see if help came, if it did dish for layup or kick out for three, if not shoot over DT or get to the rack for a layup or trip to the line. Rinse, wash, repeat. The guy destroyed us. He had 11 assists but if they counted secondary assists in bball he probably would have finished with 20 or more.
Brett Brady is your guy - Led the state of Colorado in made three pointers as a senior.
This is so hard to accept because as Goose stated CU gave up their highest points per possession of the season last night of 1.3. CU scored 1.04 PPP, only slightly below their average. CU lost lost because of defense.
Seemed like half of UCLA's 3's in the 2nd half were made with a defender in the shooter's face. They were guarding the perimeter. I agree that interior and helpside D suffered last night. The Buffs were hitting shots for the first 30 minutes and then went cold as a group. Plenty of open looks that clanked, and it wasn't like UCLA's defense was any better in the last 10 minutes.
YngC
Well-Known Member
I don't think a single 3 in the second half was over a defender shaking hands. The last three from Alford was a perfect example: Askia was right there, but his hands were below his waist. CU's defense was terrible in the second half. The offense definitely fell off a bit, but it's not what lost that game.
And for the nights when you think you "need a three point shooter to keep up", then your defense sucks or you just tip your cap to the opponent. It ain't like teams are going undefeated and don't encounter that from time to time.
I was and am a big fan of Levi. I wish we had somebody who could come off the bench and force the defense to have to come out to the line and cover him or watch him drain a series of 3's.
That said, as many have pointed out that isn't Tad's style. When Levi was on he could change a defense but when he was out there it also meant that the Buffs had to adjust their defense due to his limitations as well.
Last night UCLA didn't win because the Buffs lacked a Levi. It had a lot more to do with the Buffs not having Wes out there to provide the athleticism and toughness in the post against the UCLA big guys that allowed them to do what they wanted both inside and outside. Not having Spencer and the other injuries also made a big difference but we missed Wes a lot more than we missed a Levi.
That said, as many have pointed out that isn't Tad's style. When Levi was on he could change a defense but when he was out there it also meant that the Buffs had to adjust their defense due to his limitations as well.
Last night UCLA didn't win because the Buffs lacked a Levi. It had a lot more to do with the Buffs not having Wes out there to provide the athleticism and toughness in the post against the UCLA big guys that allowed them to do what they wanted both inside and outside. Not having Spencer and the other injuries also made a big difference but we missed Wes a lot more than we missed a Levi.
We did have XJ (36% 3pt) and XT (36% 3pt) on the floor most of the game along with Ski (31% but when on a good streak it's deadly).
Unfortunately, what we're missing is Spencer and his 41%.
Lately, this has actually been a pretty damn good 3pt shooting team. I'm much more frustrated with its inability to consistently feed the post or finish at the rim.
Or, perhaps, Levi Knutson and his 47%.
I'm not just talking about some schlub who can chuck it from time to time. I'm talking about a real shooter. A guy who lives at the arc. But, as I said, I give up. We don't need that.
I think we'd all love to have a guy who lives back there on offense. But I don't think Tad's going to recruit that unless the player also brings athleticism in the Ray Allen / Reggie Miller / Glenn Robinson range. I don't think Levi would necessarily be recruited today just like how Riley Grabau was allowed to go to Wyoming without CU putting up a fight.
But Tad has tried to target shooters. In the last 2 classes, he brought in Jenkins and D Thomas. It just hasn't worked to plan.
the frustrating thing for me is that we bring in guys like George King and Eli Stalzer who have a skill set that's basically the same as 8 other guys on the team, but pass on a guy like Grabau (good example, BTW). There's five guys on the team that can do what George King does, and probably do it better, but there's nobody on this team that can do what Riley Grabau does. We're talking about probably bringing in another couple guys who fit that same "Tad mold" next year. Would it kill us to get a pure shooter?
A guy like little Alford wouldn't hurt.
